Bind The Black

Known to others as the "Poor Man's Zombie", this spell turns the dead body of any humanoid or animal into an animated corpse that follows the casters spoken commands as close as possible. Any zombies must be created from a mostly intact corpse. The zombie can follow standard commands, such as follow, guard, attack, and patrol. Stronger casters can give more detailed commands. These zombies remain animated until either destroyed or dispelled, otherwise, they are eternal. Any creatures created remains under indefinite control of the caster. No matter how many times you use this spell, you can only control 2 Hit Dice worth of creatures per caster level, if at any time this number is exceeded, the newly created creatures are immediately under the casters control. Any excess creatures created become uncontrolled, although experienced casters can mix and match to retain control over more powerful creatures.

For every level above 3rd this spell is cast, you can target an additional Hit Dice of corpses per character level, although each corpse still requires a black gem.

Novice Necromancers default to this spell to amass great armies, using more powerful undead to ferry the uncontrolled undead into sealable, transportable boxes. Effectively creating undead bombs for protecting and swarming targets.

This spell is not class-locked. Anybody with the means to learn and execute the components can use this spell. Common folks learn this spell for personal and impersonal gain, depending on the casters alignment.

Variant: If cast at 9th level, and augmented with metamagic or other magical items, there is a one in ten chance that Nerull, the god of the dead, is notified of the casters transgressions and will react at the GM feels appropriate. However, casters aware of this can attempt to coax out Nerull on their own part. Clerics of Nerull do not abide by this effect, as their patron knows well the power their shepherds possess.